National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme-2

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) on 19th August 2016 to provide financial incentives to the establishments engaging apprentice under the Apprentices Act, 1961. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme-2 (NAPS-2) aims to promote apprenticeship training in the country, by providing partial stipend support to the apprentices engaged under the Apprentice Act, 1961, undertaking capacity building of the apprenticeship ecosystem, and providing advocacy assistance to the stakeholders. It aims at improving ease of doing business by simplifying processes of apprenticeship engagement. NAPS-2 is a Central Sector Scheme (100% funded by the Central Government) and is one of the sub-components under the umbrella scheme of "Skill India Programme‟. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is responsible for the overall regulation, management, and monitoring of NAPS-2.
Objectives of the NAPS-2 scheme:-

1. To develop skilled workforce for the economy by promotion of on-the-job experiential training.
2. To encourage establishments to enroll apprentices by sharing partial stipend support to the apprentices.
3. To provide up-skilling opportunities for candidates who have undergone short-term skill training offered by various Central and State Government initiatives.
4. To encourage enrolment of apprentices in small establishments especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and those located in the underserved areas such as aspirational districts and North-East Region.

Anticipated outcome of the scheme:-

1. MSDE aims to train 46 lakh apprentices from FY2022-23 to FY2025-26.
2. The scheme envisages greater promotion of apprenticeship in India and assisting stakeholders through various measures for accelerating the performance of Approved apprenticeship.

Other important key facts:-

1. To enhance and track the conversion of apprentices to employment, apprentices, on successful completion of their training, will be provided with a provision of quick registration on the National Career Service (NCS) portal of Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. To boost apprenticeship engagement in the ever-growing infrastructure sector, NAPS-2 will be linked to flagship Government infrastructure programs via platforms such as Gati Shakti.
3. Innovative models to preserve and upgrade existing apprenticeship systems in the informal economy, with a focus on craftsman, artisans, traditional skills, etc., will be taken up under NAPS-2.

Under the scheme, training will be imparted in Designated Trades (DT) and Optional Trades (OT).
A. Designated Trades (DT)

• Designated Trade means any trade or occupation or any subject field in engineering or non-engineering or technology or any vocational course which the Central Government.
• Duration of apprenticeship training in DT for Industrial Training Institutes‟ (ITIs) pass-out candidates will ordinarily be one (1) year.
• Duration of apprenticeship training in DT for fresher / non-ITI pass-out candidates will ordinarily be two (2) years.
• In case of DT, notified through the Gazette, the duration of basic training will be as per the approved course.

B. Optional Trades (OT)

• Optional Trade means any trade or occupation or any subject field in engineering or non-engineering or technology or any vocational course as may be determined by the employer.
• Duration of apprenticeship training for OT will be six (6) months, nine (9) months, and twelve (12) months.
• In case of OT, basic training will be embedded in the course duration of apprenticeship. It will be of minimum two (2) weeks duration before the OJT and will focus on orientation/ induction into the establishment.

Other important facts:-
1. Stipend Support
Partial stipend support by GoI under NAPS-2 will be limited to 25% of stipend paid, up to a maximum of ₹ 1,500/- per month, per apprentice during the training period through DBT to the apprentices‟ bank account.
2. Fund flow mechanism
Establishments pay at least 75% of the stipend to apprentices and GoI pays 25% of the stipend, up to a maximum of ₹ 1,500/- per month per apprentice. Partial stipend support by GoI will be transferred directly in the bank account of apprentice through DBT via PFMS.
3. Minimum Rate of Stipend Payable to Apprentices per Month
The minimum rate of stipend payable to apprentices per month as per Rule 11 of the Apprenticeship Rules, 1992 and Amendments (up to 2019) is as follows:

• School pass-outs (Class 5th – Class 9th) - ₹ 5,000/-
• School pass-outs (class 10th) - ₹ 6,000/-
• School pass-outs (class 12th) - ₹ 7,000/-
• National or State Certificate holder - ₹ 7,000/-
• Technician (vocational) apprentice or Vocational Certificate holder or Sandwich Course (Students from Diploma Institutions) - ₹ 7,000/-
• Technician apprentices or Diploma holder in any stream or Sandwich Course (Students from Degree Institutions) - ₹ 8,000/-
• Graduate apprentices or Degree apprentices or Degree in any stream - ₹ 9,000/-

• Minimum age for an apprentice is 14 years, and 18 years for designated trades related to hazardous industries, as per Section 3(a) of the Apprentices Act, 1961.
• Apprenticeship training is primarily a transition from academia to workplace, and therefore, to avail partial stipend support by the Government, at the time of registration the upper age limit should be 35 years.
• Candidates from skill development programmes such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), etc. will be encouraged to take up apprenticeship training to enhance their skills and employability.
• Establishments will be able to issue a contract only to those candidates who have updated their Aadhaar numbers and completed e-KYC on the apprenticeship portal.

1. No reimbursement of basic training cost will be provided under NAPS-2, both for Designated Trades (DT) and Optional Trades (OT). 1. No stipend support will be available under NAPS-2 to the Central and State Government Departments and Central and State Public Sector Undertakings/Enterprises, including Public Sector Banks.

Online

Step 1: Visit the official page of the Apprenticeship Portal, i.e., https://www.apprenticeshipindia.gov.in/****
Step 2: Click on Login/Register and choose from the listed options, i.e., as Candidate, Establishment, Third Party Aggregator, Basic Training Providers, etc.
Step 3: Entering mobile number and email ID, one gets registered on the portal to apply for the scheme.
Step 4: New candidate registration on the apprenticeship portal will only be completed once a candidate has entered his/her Aadhaar number and completed the e-KYC.
Step 5: Mobile OTP based authentication will be mandatory for all candidates.